Exhaust Gasket Reuse

[aaron]

Hi guys. I have 3600 miles on the bike and just ordered an exhaust. Anybody change exhaust at close to this mileage? We're you still able to re-use your factory header gaskets?

[AlbatrossCafe]

You can get new for like $16 total. I would just do that for peace of mind. Chances are they are existing ones the majority of the time, even at that mileage. But if you already can spend several hundred (maybe even a thousand) for the exhaust, why not just get the extra gaskets for $16?
 
A a dealer near me had 4 of them in stock so you should be able to get them easily if you don't want to wait for shipping.
 

[mjh937]

I concur. Why risk a potential problem when you can do it right the first time and only have to do it once?

[aaron]

I concur. Why risk a potential problem when you can do it right the first time and only have to do it once?

 
Nobody around me had them in stock which is why I asked. When I looked online the gaskets costed 12 bucks but most places wanted another 12 bucks for shipping. I figured i would check with the forum first. I will probably just use the old gaskets and if they end up leaking I will then order new ones.

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

I concur. Why risk a potential problem when you can do it right the first time and only have to do it once?

Nobody around me had them in stock which is why I asked. When I looked online the gaskets costed 12 bucks but most places wanted another 12 bucks for shipping. I figured i would check with the forum first. I will probably just use the old gaskets and if they end up leaking I will then order new ones.

I did mine at a little over 2,000 miles. They fell right out when I took the stock system out. They weren't crushed at all so I reused them. Just over 1,000 miles later and I don't have any issues from reusing the stock gaskets.  
After you put the system on and torque the header nuts to 16 ft/lbs, check them after 500 miles and re-torque them. Mine were at 12 ft/lbs when I checked after about 500 miles. 
 
After that you can easily check to see if the header gaskets are leaking with an extended reach lighter (campfire style). Find a garage, close all the doors/windows, start up the bike and lay on the ground by the header. Put the flame around where the header is bolted into the block and check from as many angles as you can. If the flame doesn't move - you're golden. If it does move, you've got a leak. If you rev it and it blows the flame out, you've got a pretty big leak. 
 
Obviously don't spend more than a minute or two doing this as you'll be running out of fresh air. Hope this helps. 

[aaron]

Thanks AJ. Right after I started this thread I found a set locally. There is a small dealer a town over that mostly sells snowmobiles and lawnmowers. They had a set in stock! I didn't even think to check with them. Good to know I probably could have reused them though.

[hobbs]

I reused mine, after inspecting the old set they appeared fine enough.
 
I don't remember when I changed exhaust but the bike had at least 2k+ miles, which was 20k miles ago.
 
New gaskets would have been ideal, but no detriment noted here.

[jake]

reused mine no issue

[aaron]

I did my exhaust install today. The old gaskets looked fine at 3600 miles. But, I went ahead and used the new ones since I had them here.